By Terry Overton As a new writer curious about the craft of writing, I aspired to learn all aspects of writing fiction. Authors’ voices, writing styles, and uniquely developed characters are fascinating. How was Hemmingway’s writing different from Fitzgerald or Austin? How are the styles of contemporary fiction authors different from writers of years past? How can authors have such …
Mismatched in the Yoke
by E.V. Sparrow With all the social media ads, gurus, and writing organizations flashing their beacons before us every time we do searches on any platform, how do we choose which ones are good for us as authors? Instead of flashing neon words telling us things like, “Stop here, we promise you success, or we love all authors, and will …
Researching Beyond the Internet
By Cindy Ervin Huff I write historical and contemporary romance and research is the key to getting details right. If you are placing your story in a town that exists now or at the time of your story, you need to get the geography right. Those details give readers you-are-there feel. I’ve learned the internet is not always the best …
Common Writing Obstacles: Perfectionism
By Henry McLaughlin Perfectionism is the bane of many a writer, even experienced ones. Each story must be perfect or it’s no good. There’s no middle ground. There’s no forgiveness for ourselves. We don’t allow for the fact we’re human, we’re frail, and, despite our pride, we don’t know it all. Perfectionism plagued my early years as a writer, and …
Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals for a Productive Writing Year
By Lisa Jordan Instead of making resolutions, I claim One Word for the year. I also use the My Brilliant Writing Planner to map out a values-based plan for what I hope to achieve. That includes all areas of my life—faith, family, friendships, health, work, writing, etc. However, it’s so easy to be overwhelmed by the enormity of it all …
Worthy Words: Prophetic Plots
By Christine Sunderland We are in the season of prophecy, of Advent, in which Old Testament lessons foretell the coming of the Messiah in Bethlehem, and also envision the Second Coming, the Apocalypse, the End of Days when Christ returns “in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:25+). A third “Advent” is the coming of Our Lord into …
What Derails Your Writing Dream?
By Tara Johnson “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” ~Thoreau Each year, I meet countless people who tell me they dream of writing, but only a fraction of them take the first step to begin. Why? Here are the most common excuses: Fear of failure Writers fail all …
Why We Write
By Terry Overton A google search for quotes about writing by famous authors will yield quotes from the likes of Winston Churchill, Earnest Hemmingway, Mary Higgins Clark, Stephen King, Maya Angelou, Agatha Christie, and J.K. Rowling, to name just a few. Some of the tidbits of wisdom these authors offer make us laugh while others are inspirational. Several of the …
How to Engage with the Writing Community: Join an ACFW Chapter
By Jill K. Willis You’ve finally decided to write a novel. Yay! But you have so many questions about the publishing industry. What software do I use? Which editing guidelines are the standard? How many words should I write for my genre? You’ve taken your first step by connecting with the American Christian Fiction Writers. You may even have joined …
The Smell, Taste, Sound, and Feel of Christmas
By Lisa Schnedler My novel, Bentonsport: A Christmas Story, is about two people, from two eras, who meet two weeks before Christmas. When I sat down to write this novel, I did not plan for it to involve time travel. I intended the story to reflect the emotions I had experienced when I moved from the city I had lived …